Title: Cong Catchers: A Soldier’s Memories of Vietnam
Author: Lee Halverson
Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
ISBN: 978-1635259827
Pages: 380
Genre: Memoir / History / War
Reviewed by: Ephantus M

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Cong Catchers: A Soldier’s Memories of Vietnam is a sprawling and unvarnished account written by Lee Halverson, a soldier who served in the US Army as a member of the 1st Cavalry Division during the Vietnam War from January 1969 to December 1970. Here, Halverson narrates his personal experiences as an infantryman in Vietnam during the one year he lived on the war front.

He further shines a light on the effects of war, on particular challenges that soldiers face, some harrowing experiences on the battlefield such as rocket and mortar attacks, the fear, and hopelessness which would set in from time to time among many including the selflessness of soldiers to a common course.

Halverson draws from his own experiences recalling in vivid detail how friendships were formed and sustained and the daily life as a grunt in combat. We experience his first-hand experience as he reflects on what an unpopular and brutal war meant for its Vietnamese civilians, moving further to assess the consequences of the war on the social, political, and economic setup of the world at large.

The writer is unflinchingly honest and candidly spells out the hardships of basic training and dog handling while all along having epistolary exchanges with his wife, Ginny, who anticipated his return to the US. What stands out in this fresh recollection of the war is the author’s principles, motivation, and values which carried him on throughout the whole period. His acts of compassion and kindness at a bleak time when many civilians needed these are admirable and noble as well.

Cong Catchers: A Soldier’s Memories of Vietnam is indeed an accomplished work and a necessary perspective on the war from a distinguished writer about one of the pivotal moments in U.S. history. Its stark and stellar prose gives the book a high poise. Lee Halverson’s majestic work is unequivocally a must-read for anyone, soldier or civilian, who wants to know more about the Vietnam War and its enduring effects on all its participants.